Global321

I almost always ask if I cannot access the US app for some reason. They don't seem to mind, as long as your are polite. Also, better to get on with F/C rather than waiting until later.

Good advice.

nlkm9

yeah, but I truly dont think its fair if that upgrade legitimately belongs to someone else. however, I am always very polite

Global321

I 100% agree it is not fair, but, that is up to the agent, not us.

They 'should' go by the list, however, a few weeks ago, I was in first and saw a non-rev (in uniform) sit across from me. The upgrade list was 20 deep, so there were people looking for the upgrade. But, it was time for departure and i assume the agent just needed to get the plane off the blocks. Fair? No. Does it happen? Yes. (A very small fraction of a percent of the time I am sure.)

So in that case, if an elite was by the gate that was low on the list but asked, they probably would have gotten the upgrade.

IADCAflyer

I tried to post this in the upgrade thread, but its been closed and consolidated with the AA forum.... But this is a very specific US question.

I've upgraded a lot of red eye flights. This is the first time that I can remember that I've taken a red-eye flight that departs after midnight.

Even more odd is that when you search for flights of a given day (July 31 for example), US will give you red eye flights that are technically departing on August 1 (12:05 am for example).

So, when is the upgrade window open for a flight that, by the calendar, departs on August 1? I assume July 28 for Ex Plats, and July 29 for Plats.

Or does the system carry over and assume that these red eye flights are part of the previous day?

eddieflyer

The seat map for a PHL-PHX flight shows F as full, but EF shows F5/X0/A5.

I'm AAEP with a US/US ticket, and it is t-3 away, and I've not cleared.

What's going on here? Is this a case of overbooking F? What happens if I try to burn a SWU (there is A5, after all). Seems weird that F/A wouldn't show 0, especially when several other flights this week do show F0/A0. I want to assume F is not actually full and I'll get upgraded closer in, but that would mean the seat map is a lie. Seems like an empty seat map is no guarantee, but a full one is.

la2clt

Row 1 will always show as blocked. I don't know why there isn't 1 more seat showing. F is not oversold.

eddieflyer

I see. Not very familiar with this. Why is that Row 1 will always show blocked? This likely does explain it. The EF pictures shows 3 rows, 4 seats each -- except Row 1 shows 3 blocked out (1 seat as occupied); and shows Row 3 missing 2 seats (2 occupied). That's 3+2 = 5, so part of the mystery solved. But why also doesn't it show the last two seats, I wonder.

eddieflyer

Welp! OK, now it's F0/A0/X0 and I'm not upgraded. Don't know what happened, but I don't like it.

aztimm

Perhaps there were other elites ahead of you in the pecking order? Perhaps there were seats unassigned that got assigned? Or maybe some people actually bought F.
After status, US uses miles flown on US/AA over the past year (a rolling year) as the tiebreaker.

PHL-PHX (and PHX-PHL) has consistently been one of the toughest (if not the toughest) upgrade in the US system.
Whenever it happened to me, even as a CP, I treated it as a gift.

Global321

There are no guarantee's. An EP expecting to be upgraded on every flight is setting yourself up to be disappointed and unhappy.

Just this past two weeks I missed out twice on upgrades. And I have well over 150,000 in the last 12 rolling months.

It is going to happen.

+1. Exactly.

eddieflyer

Sure, sure. I just would have thought of the 12, those last 5 seats would already have been disbursed at t-7, or that they'd just have held the seats back until day of, and I'd have been beaten out on the upgrade list. Hard to believe 5 people walked up an bought F in the past day, and it doesn't make sense for US to hold them until t-2.

Global321

I agree that 5 sold in the last day seems a little far fetched. But irregular opps could explain 5 seats very easily.

At T-7, you are assuming there were 5 seats not sold. Just because there are 5 empty or 5 for sale, does not mean there are 5 available. Each flight can get oversold by at least a few. So, in theory, there could have been 2-3 not taken.

And 7 days out, not all that crazy to sell a 5 seats in first, especially if the price delta between coach and first is small.

I hear you about thinking something could be a foot. Maybe it was, but most likely not.

eddieflyer

Was #2 on the upgrade list, PHL-PHX and #2 on PHX-ANC

Global321

Did you check and recheck every little bit for the upgrade within 24 hours?

Duke787

Is US like UA with R space in the sense that if EF is showing X=1 and I am within my 2 day window (Gold), I can call in and ask them to process the upgrade and they might do it (though granted with UA it tends to be with RPUs where this disconnect occurs and works)?

Just received an upgrade for the short hop (CLT - RDU) at the end but the longer hop (PHX - CLT) did not clear but shows X=1 on EF for that flight so obviously if I can call in and they'll process I'd jump on it, but if not I won't waste my time calling.